Call it what you will—E-type, as in Britain, or XK-E, as here in the States—Jaguar’s most iconic car can now also be called the best British car ever, thanks to a recent magazine poll.

The E-type, as our own internal style guide demands we call it, debuted in March 1961 at the Geneva Motor Show to the sorts of reviews reserved for world-class cars: “The most wanted car in the world,” the Daily Mail wrote. “It will be a winner everywhere.” Indeed,...